Debunking the Disney Disinformation

Meryl Streep has proven once and for all that she should stick to acting and stay away from speechifying.

This week at the awards for the National Board of Review, the organizers tapped Streep to give an award to Emma Thompson for her portrayal of P. L. Travers in the delightful Saving Mr. Banks. Instead of merely lauding Thompson for her masterful performance, Streep chose to aim daggers at the memory of Walt Disney, whom Tom Hanks portrayed in the film. Streep managed to trot out all the old saws of disinformation against Disney:

Disney's reputation has long been dogged by accusations of anti-Semitism, but Streep focused most of her attention on Disney's treatment of women, calling the legendary impresario a "gender bigot" and quoting longtime Disney animator Ward Kimball, who said his boss "didn't trust women or cats."

Streep also accused Disney of supporting "an anti-Semitic industry lobbying group," believed to be a reference to the Motion Picture Alliance, and quoted a letter purportedly written by Disney's company to an aspiring female animator which read, in part "Women do not do any of the creative work in connection with preparing the cartoons for the screen, as that task is performed entirely by young men."

Of course the antisemitism charge has been repeated over and over by the Left. In Streep's case, if she is referring to the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, she is sadly mistaken. That organization consisted of conservatives in Hollywood who were committed to stamping out Communist influence and, well, preserving American ideals.